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Diva 5K

There are certain moments in life that you can forever replay in your mind as if they just happened. One of these was the moment I found out my mother had cancer. I was nine years old and until then the only knowledge I had of the word “cancer” was from family members who had lost their battles. So many memories started in that one moment and spanned over the next few years including chemo visits, surgeries and the night my mom shaved her head. From that one moment grew a feeling that existed in my house during the time my mother was ill – a feeling that was present while she fought each battle and won the war to become the first survivor in our family.

My mother was 33 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, I was nine, my brother was three and my sister was one. Although I had some understanding of what was going on, my siblings were too young to comprehend why mommy couldn’t do certain things. We were a very young family whose time was filled with school, learning to walk and planning an upsherin (Jewish haircutting ceremony). But each day, no matter how sick or sore my mother felt, she showered, put on clothes and make-up and was ready to greet us when we came home from school. She talked to me about my day and sat at the dinner table. I think it was only years later as a teen looking at an old picture that it really dawned on me how sick my mother had been. Back then there was no Sharsheret to connect with peers going through what we were going through or help families talk to their children about breast cancer. When I learned about Sharsheret, my first thought was “Wow, these survivors and families have each other! What a gift.”

When I found the “Run Like A Diva 5K Race” I decided to do it with Team Sharsheret. I wanted to do it for all the kids who are trying to understand what their mommies are going through and for all the mommies who are showering and putting on make-up before their kids get home.

As always we plan and Gd laughs. About a month into my training I found out I was pregnant. I thought “I've never even run 3 miles so how am I going to do it 5 months pregnant?” Then I just laughed at myself. If the whole point of doing this run was to honor my mother's strength and that of other survivors there was NO WAY I was not going to do a simple 3 mile run.

So on November 3rd, one week after the 20th anniversary of my mother's mastectomy, I ran 3 miles as the mother of three children and five months pregnant with my fourth. I raised $1,400 for Sharsheret in honor of everyone affected by breast cancer but especially my mother who never let us know how sick she really was and taught me what it means to be a survivor. I am proud to support Sharsheret who makes it possible to no longer have to fight the war alone.